Maria Santiago
Maria Santiago (née Flores) was the wife of Dom. But like all humans on Sera their lives changed on Emergence Day when the Locust destroyed their home and murdered their two young children. Maria and Dom fled to Jacinto, but the damage was done. With her children gone and her husband spending more and more time on the frontline, Maria surrendered to her grief. She vanished, leaving no word of her plans. Dom has dedicated himself to finding her. Biography ]] Early Life When Maria was 11, she'd moved in two doors down from Dom, he would look forward to seeing her climb her front-yard tree. When he finally talked to her, they soon became good friends. Later, when they were teenagers, they began dating. One day Maria came to Dom saying she missed her period, which amongst other things led Dom to marry her, hoping to take responsibility for his actions and for his soon to grow family. When Benedicto was born Dom gave Maria a necklace to mark the birth of their son, soon enlisting into the COG to support his family - going against his mother's wishes. Before Dom left, he, Maria, and Carlos went to a bar off of Embry Square where Carlos took a picture of the couple, the one later used as Maria's search picture. Maria mostly wanted to take care of Benedicto by herself. A year later, she was pregnant with a girl. However, little Sylvia was early so Dom missed Sylvia's birth. After Aspho, he spent more time with his family after Carlos died. Two years later, Dom and Maria moved out of their Lower Jacinto apartment and into a house in the suburb of Ephyra (the one in Dom's flashback dream after being swallowed by the Riftworm). The Ephyra residence was a beautiful two-story Villa-style house. Emergence Day When E-Day occurred, Maria and Dom have just rented their first house.Gears of War: Sourcebook Maria had sent the kids one day to her parents house so she and Dom could have the whole day together and relax. Maria would wake up Dom and deliver him breakfast in bed and announce the kids are at her mother's house. Unfortunately, this day was Emergence Day. After the Emergence in Ephrya, Maria and Dom soon discovered that their children have been killed by the Locust, along with Maria's parents, and Dom forced Maria to flee to Jacinto, their former home. Both parents were devastated, but Maria soon descended into depression while her husband stayed on the frontlines to keep from thinking too much. One year after Emergence Day, Maria was still grieving over her children, her eyes red and puffy from crying everyday. While Dom was saddened, Maria was so depressed she was prescribed anti-depressants. However, this led to unforseen hallucinatory side effects. Maria developed the routine of cleaning their children bedroom's, then turn in to nap, followed by a walk. She would go for weeks without speaking or eating. She spent years blaming herself for sending the kids to her parents house that day, thinking she let the Horde get them. After the announcement of the Hammer Protocol, she was transported to Fenix Estate where Adam Fenix took care of her. Dom eventually got her to admit that she goes on walks because she believes that the kids are still alive and that she sees them everyday on her walks. She also blocks out the truth that her kids are dead and does not listen to Dom. She actually risked her health to go outside to see them again after the Hammer drop - the event that lead to the constant pollution cloud all over Sera. Her basic routine was to clean the kids' bedrooms, take her meds, take a nap, and go out for a walk. This routine went on for four years before Maria simply left Jacinto to live with the Stranded. She left no words of her plan. No note and no one knew why. Living with the Stranded Maria soon found herself with a Stranded clan that was lead by Stu. It is unknown what happened for the next eleven years. As for Dom, he spent his free time and using his friends during those eleven years to find her. During the Lightmass Offensive, Dom had his friend in a Stranded Group, Franklin Tsoko, update him if they're was any news on her since Franklin "owes" him. When Dom needed to ask him for the Junker so he and his squad may proceed, Franklin said there was "no news on the lady." After the Lightmass Offensive, many Stranded were forced to go underground, including Stu's group. They were afraid like many others and headed under Mount Kadar, camping on the shore overlooking the lake near Nexus. Until then, they waited for Chaps and his group to join them. While waiting, Chaps had discovered the Locust had captured Stu and his group along with Maria. The Locust had taken them deeper near Nexus. During this time they were enslaved, imprisoned, and processed. Maria was tortured for months by being starved, scarred, lobotomised, and beaten. This treatment went on until Operation Hollow Storm. Operation Hollow Storm By this time, she was left a shell of her former self. On the first day of the battle, Dom was told by Anya that Maria might have been sighted at Jacinto Med, but it turned out to be a false Jane Doe, leaving Dom furious. As the Assault on Landown was taking place, Dom became worried if something were to happen to him so he couldn't find Maria. Dom makes Marcus promise that he needs to help find her if something happens to him. As the soldiers proceed through the Inner Hollows, Anya gives word to Dom that several stranded camps have been found underground due to the unsafe conditions on the surface, and Dom took her word for it. After Delta Squad gets swallowed by the Rift Worm, Dom has a flash-back dream of Maria giving Dom breakfast-in-bed on Emergence Day. During the second day of the battle, Delta Squad locates a stranded camp in Mt. Kadar, one of the which is Chaps. Dom asks Chaps about Maria and shows him the picture. Chaps told Dom and Marcus about her and the missing group when they found him under Mt. Kadar. Death Dom and Marcus fought through her prison near the highway after they had been spotted. After the firefight, Dom orders JACK to open the cell where Maria is. Once JACK opens the pod, Dom sees Maria as she had always been, healthy and beautiful. Dom went into disbelief, until Marcus shakes Dom from his dream. Dom wakes and finds her emaciated, tortured, and broken in every way: she was a ghost of her former self, too traumatized to realize who Dom was. Marcus and Dom both knew what he had to do, so Marcus left Dom to reach for his pistol and he was forced to euthanize her, due to her emancipation and lost sanity. Her last moments were him saying "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Maria! I love you, so much!" He shot Maria in the head to end her pain, and took the necklace he gave her when their son was born. Dom continued with Marcus to the Nexus. Legacy Maria's death was a toll on Dom and even the emotionally-cold Marcus. The final moments of her life turned the charismatic Dom into a cold machine, sending him on a killing frenzy in the Nexus. Dom's love for her caused him to temporarily abandon the mission.Gears of War 2 instead of following the Highway Marcus and Dom enter the dam and find human slaves During the aftermath of the sinking of Jacinto, Dom tells Augustus Cole (and Damon Baird by proximity) that he had to kill her. Later, Marcus tells Bernadette Mataki, who is shocked and tries to tell everyone, including Anya and Col.Victor Hoffman not to talk about her. Many people had been looking for her, and were saddened and shocked by her death. Dom kept blaming himself for not finding her in time, and thought he had made a mistake killing her instead of taking her to a hospital. He loved her so much that he took her necklace and tied it around his COG tag. One day, Dominic sits on the beach and thinks about Maria. He thinks about the new life she started and that someone had found her and loved her, he feared someone might have married her. But he still misses her.Gears of War: Jacinto's Remnant He begins seeing people as Maria as she saw Bennie and Sylvia; he saw a woman outside a bar that resembled her but turns out to be nothing like her. He was curious about what had happened to Maria and why she was like the way he found her. Dr.Maryon Hayman had theories that Maria may have had ataxia, dystonia, nystagmus, bradykinesia, ocular toxin deposition and she said none of those diseases were curable and that Maria was slowly dying. Dom had also questioned himself the scars on her scalp, but no one had any idea what it was. From research, apparently Maria was lobotomized - the Locust removed her scalp and revealed her brain. The Locust probably used this as a torture technique as well as to subdue the masses into tame slaves. Now, Dom has nothing left but singing her favorite songs, wear her necklace, look at pictures and just remembering her. Still, nearly two years after her death, Dom still grieves over the death of his wife, leaving him traumatized as Maria was when she lost the children. Dom has let himself go, growing a beard and no longer caring about himself. He now grows attachments to his friends and meaningless objects like growing plants. To honor and remember her death, Dom had fellow Gear Sam Byrne modify his tattoo of Maria, which she reworks into an angel staring up to the sky. Personality and Traits Maria, typical of most parents, loved her children and husband. Maria, however, was independent. When Dom was in the army, she wanted to take care of Benedicto and Sylvia by herself without her mother's help. When her children were killed on Emergence Day, she entered into a phase of Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. She was later prescribed anti-depressants and showed some revealing side effects. She would cry everyday while she still cleans the kids bedrooms and goes on walks believing she will still find them. She would go days without food or water and finally giving in to her loss, left the only safe place on Sera to live among the Stranded. Quotes Gears of War: Aspho Fields Behind the Scenes *Maria Santiago was voiced by Courtney Ford. *Maria was indirectly mentioned in Gears of War with Dom mentioning he was "looking for someone", and Franklin's reply "No news on the lady, man." Her first appearances was in Gears of War 2 with a photograph, flashback and the Sourcebook in the Day One story. References Category:COG Category:Civilians Category:Stranded Category:Females Category:Tyran Category:Characters